1991 was a year of democracy. In Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union collapsed and the communist order ended. And in the Middle east, Iraqis overthrew their brutal, Stalinist dictator, Saddam Hussein. In hindsight, the Ba'athist government of Iraq was doomed to fail. From 1980, Iraq had been at war, first with Iraq, a country three times its size, and then in 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Sectarian tensions were the cracks in Saddam's regime. Iraq was a majority Shi'ite country but the Sunni minority held power. In the north, the Kurds yearned for independence and sporadically revolted, only to be temporarily silenced by the infamous Al-Anfal campaign.
The Gulf War turned the cracks in Saddam's regime into open wounds. Iraq was humiliated and its army in disarray as the US chased it from Kuwait. Thousands deserted in the chaos and US troops advanced into Iraq. Years of war had ruined Iraq economically and Saddam's repression had caused open social wounds. All that was needed was a spark.
On March 1, 1991, the Iraqi Revolution started. A tank fired a shell into the giant portrait of Saddam while onlooking soldiers applauded. Riots erupted throughout southern Iraq. Most of the Iraqi army defected and joined the revolutionaries. Ba'athist officials were literally torn apart and government offices, bases, and buildings were burned.
Meanwhile, in northern Iraq, the Kurdish peshmerga revolted. The Kurdistan Democratic Party(KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan(PUK) led the revolt. The peshmerga took Suleimania, Erbil, Mosul and Kirkuk. Northern Iraq fell from Saddam's control. On April 1, the Kurdish leaders met in Mosul and agreed to next march on Baghdad.
14/18 of Iraq's provinces fell from Saddam's control. US troops occupied southern Iraq. President Bush gave the approval for the creation of a no-fly zone over southern Iraq and Kurdistan. Defense Secretary Cheney declared that the United States would not tolerate violence against the Iraqi people. US troops established a buffer zone in southern Iraq. Saddam was forced not to attack the south.
By now however, Saddam's fall was inevitable. The remaining troops in Baghdad revolted. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Army in the south advanced north and PUK militants advanced south. On April 10, the UN passed a resolution calling for Saddam to be overthrown and condemning him for crimes against humanity. US forces bombed Baghdad and Tikrit.
From Kuwait and southern Iraq, US troops marched towards Baghdad. Only small splatters of Republican Guard resistance remained.
Troops marched into central Baghdad. Protesters smashed Saddam's statue and toppled it before chopping it into pieces. This symbolic act was seen on televisions across the world and showed the Iraqi Revolution's success. After fighting in the suburbs of Baghdad, the city fell by April 20. Saddam Hussein was captured by US troops as was Ali Hassan al-Majid and Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. Saddam's two sons were killed.
Guerilla resistance by Ba'athist loyalists in Tikrit continued until June. A new interim government was established,led by Ahmad Chalabi as interim president and Ibrahim Jafaari as interim Prime Minister. The Ba'athist regime was dissolved. Iran's army was re-organised and established security. On May 15, 1991, the Kurds declared independence as the Republic of Kurdistan. Iraq was now irreversibly on a new path.
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The 1991 uprisings actually happened and Saddam lost 14/18 of Iraq. However, the first Bush administration didn't intervene and kettles the Republican Guard slaughter over 180,000 Shi'ites and crush the uprisings. This is a TL where Iraq is a different democracy and while slightly idealistic, will hopefully be plausible and intriguing. Enjoy!
). I just changed it so Bush decided to do so. Yes, it was a very big betrayal, encouraging the uprising then abandoning it.